'Southern Charm' star Cameran Eubanks on the 'reality' of motherhood

As a first-time mama-to-be, I try not to fall into the trap of what motherhood looks like, according to social media. But whenever I search popular hashtags on Instagram like #motherhood, #momlife, and #motherslove, thousands of photos and videos pop up featuring glamorous moms posing with well-dressed and well-behaved babies. I have to either take my time scrolling through these feeds or squint extra hard just to spot a picture of a mommy sporting messy hair, baby-vomit-covered blouses, or stretch marks across her belly.

The 34-year-old is one of the socialites featured on Bravo’s reality TV series set in my home of Charleston, S.C. I watched Eubanks go from not wanting kids to documenting virtually every moment (cheeseball and Chick-fil-A cravings galore) leading up to the birth of her daughter, Palmer, with husband, Jason Wimberly. And somehow she manages to maintain her witty, no bulls*** filter on the internet too.

“With social media and these blogs, I think so many women paint this picture-perfect image of what having a baby is like. They show them holding a baby with their hair done and makeup done. You’ve got Kate Middleton walking out of the hospital in high heels — that’s just not reality,” Eubanks told me during a very candid talk about motherhood.

She continued: “I think it’s important for women to realize that it kind of sucks, but you get through and you get this wonderful little baby that you have unconditional love out of it. In the end, it’s all worth it. You’ll see it.”

According to Eubanks, one of the things that “sucks” is postpartum hair loss. Even though she knew this was inevitable, the blond beauty admits that she “didn’t realize the extent that it was going to happen.”

“It was kind of shocking when you start to lose literally gobs of hair,” she said. “I really couldn’t wear ponytails because you could see the bald spots around the front of the hairline. It’s embarrassing!”

Having tried and failed with just about every old wives’ tale to induce labor, Eubanks didn’t rely on superstitions to get her hair back to a healthy state. Luckily, she discovered a solution with Keranique, a regrowth hair care system that’s available at Ulta. The line is formulated with minoxidil, the only FDA-approved ingredient clinically proven to help women regrow hair.

For Eubanks, using the brand’s products made a difference not only in repairing breakage along her hairline and getting rid of buildup from dry shampoo but also in the way her locks reacted to Southern humidity.

“You name it, I’ve tried it to deal with the humidity, including getting keratin treatments, which are so bad for your hair,” she said. “And when you have damage in your hair cuticles with frizz … it just does a number on your hair. The great thing about Keranique is that all of their products have anti-humidity technology in them.”

Besides being open about postpartum hair loss, Eubanks has also been very candid on her struggles with breastfeeding and how it impacted her mental health.

“Breastfeeding is the natural thing to do … it’s what your body is designed to do. Unfortunately, in 2018, the world that we live in is not conducive to supporting breastfeeding women,” she said. “I would drive around pumping my breasts in the car — I mean it was miserable! It took so much time out of my day and so much effort when I was already exhausted that it literally started to make me depressed.”

Eubanks revealed that she had an “oversupply issue” and developed an infection in the mammary glands called mastitis. “I’d go to [my mother] and cry and say, ‘This is so hard. I can’t take it anymore.’ My mother said, ‘Cameran, I feel like you’re looking for permission from someone. Stop. You’re miserable. Just quit!'”

So she made a decision to give up breastfeeding her daughter and chose formula feeding instead. “I was a formula baby from day one because my mother couldn’t breastfeed and I turned out OK. So I’m a big believer in the ‘fed is best movement.’ I think as long as your baby is fed, you are doing a fabulous job. Women, especially in this day and age, should not be ashamed if they can’t breastfeed or if they flat-out just don’t want to.”

Even though her parenting journey is just beginning, I’m sure Eubanks would agree with the saying “Mother knows best.”